bloom taxnmy 1

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Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives

One of the most widely used ways of organizing levels of expertise is according to Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational

Objectives. (Bloom et al., 1994; Gronlund, 1991; Krathwohl et al., 1956.) Bloom's Taxonomy (Tables 1-3) uses a multi-tiered

scale to express the level of expertise required to achieve each measurable student outcome. Organizing measurable

student outcomes in this way will allow us to select appropriate classroom assessment techniques for the course.

There are three taxonomies. Which of the three to use for a given measurable student outcome depends upon the original

goal to which the measurable student outcome is connected. There are knowledge-based goals, skills-based goals, and

affective goals (affective: values, attitudes, and interests); accordingly, there is a taxonomy for each. Within each taxonomy,

levels of expertise are listed in order of increasing complexity. Measurable student outcomes that require the higher levels of

expertise will require more sophisticated classroom assessment techniques.

The course goal in Figure 2--"student understands proper dental hygiene"--is an example of a knowledge-based goal. It is

knowledge-based because it requires that the student learn certain facts and concepts. An example of a skills-based goal for

this course might be "student flosses teeth properly." This is a skills-based goal because it requires that the student learn

how to do something. Finally, an affective goal for this course might be "student cares about proper oral hygiene." This is an

affective goal because it requires that the student's values, attitudes, or interests be affected by the course.

LEVEL OFEXPERTISE

DESCRIPTION OF LEVELEXAMPLE OFMEASURABLE

STUDENT OUTCOME

Table 1: Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives for Knowledge-Based Goals

1. KnowledgeRecall, or recognition of terms, ideas, procedure, theories, etc. When is the first day of

Spring?

2. ComprehensionTranslate, interpret, extrapolate, but not see full implications or transfer

to other situations, closer to literal translation.

What does the summer

solstice represent?

3. Application

Apply abstractions, general principles, or methods to specific concrete

situations.

What would Earth's

seasons be like if its orbit

was perfectly circular?

4. Analysis

Separation of a complex idea into its constituent parts and an

understanding of organization and relationship between the parts.

Includes realizing the distinction between hypothesis and fact as well

as between relevant and extraneous variables.

Why are seasons

reversed in the southern

hemisphere?

5. Synthesis

Creative, mental construction of ideas and concepts from multiple

sources to form complex ideas into a new, integrated, and meaningful

pattern subject to given constraints.

If the longest day of the

year is in June, why is the

northern hemisphere

hottest in August?

6. Evaluation

To make a judgment of ideas or methods using external evidence or

self-selected criteria substantiated by observations or informed

rationalizations.

What would be the

important variables for

predicting seasons on a

newly discovered planet?

LEVEL OFEXPERTISE

DESCRIPTION OF LEVELEXAMPLE OF MEASURABLE

STUDENT OUTCOME

Table 2: Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives for Skills-Based Goals

Perception

Uses sensory cues to guide

actions

Some of the colored samples you see will need dilution before you take

their spectra. Using only observation, how will you decide which solutions

might need to be diluted?

Set

Demonstrates a readiness to

take action to perform the task

or objective

Describe how you would go about taking the absorbance spectra of a

sample of pigments?

Guided

Response

Knows steps required to

complete the task or objective

Determine the density of a group of sample metals with regular and

irregular shapes.

Mechanism

Performs task or objective in a

somewhat confident,

proficient, and habitual

manner

Using the procedure described below, determine the quantity of copper in

your unknown ore. Report its mean value and standard deviation.

Complex

Overt

Response

Performs task or objective in a

confident, proficient, and

habitual manner

Use titration to determine the Ka for an unknown weak acid.

Adaptation

Performs task or objective as

above, but can also modify

actions to account for new or

problematic situations

You are performing titrations on a series of unknown acids and find a

variety of problems with the resulting curves, e.g., only 3.0 ml of base is

required for one acid while 75.0 ml is required in another. What can you do

to get valid data for all the unknown acids?

Organization

Creates new tasks or

objectives incorporating

learned ones

Recall your plating and etching experiences with an aluminum substrate.

Choose a different metal substrate and design a process to plate, mask,

and etch so that a pattern of 4 different metals is created.

LEVEL OFEXPERTISE

DESCRIPTION OF LEVELEXAMPLE OF MEASURABLE

STUDENT OUTCOME

Table 3: Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives for Affective Goals

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Receiving

Demonstrates a willingness to participate in the

activity

When I'm in class I am attentive to the

instructor, take notes, etc. I do not read the

newspaper instead.

RespondingShows interest in the objects, phenomena, or activity

by seeking it out or pursuing it for pleasure

I complete my homework and participate in

class discussions.

ValuingInternalizes an appreciation for (values) the

objectives, phenomena, or activity

I seek out information in popular media

related to my class.

Organization

Begins to compare different values, and resolves

conflicts between them to form an internally

consistent system of values

Some of the ideas I've learned in my class

differ from my previous beliefs. How do I

resolve this?

Characterization

by a Value or Value

Complex

Adopts a long-term value system that is "pervasive,

consistent, and predictable"

I've decided to take my family on a vacation

to visit some of the places I learned about in

my class.

To determine the level of expertise required for each measurable student outcome, first decide which of these three broad

categories (knowledge-based, skills-based, and affective) the corresponding course goal belongs to. Then, using the

appropriate Bloom's Taxonomy, look over the descriptions of the various levels of expertise. Determine which description

most closely matches that measurable student outcome. As can be seen from the examples given in the three Tables, there

are different ways of representing measurable student outcomes, e.g., as statements about students (Figure 2), as

questions to be asked of students (Tables 1 and 2), or as statements from the student's perspective (Table 3). You may find

additional ways of representing measurable student outcomes; those listed in Figure 2 and in Tables 1-3 are just examples.

Bloom's Taxonomy is a convenient way to describe the degree to which we want our students to understand and use

concepts, to demonstrate particular skills, and to have their values, attitudes, and interests affected. It is critical that we

determine the levels of student expertise that we are expecting our students to achieve because this will determine which

classroom assessment techniques are most appropriate for the course. Though the most common form of classroom

assessment used in introductory college courses--multiple choice tests--might be quite adequate for assessing knowledge

and comprehension (levels 1 and 2, Table 1), this type of assessment often falls short when we want to assess our students

knowledge at the higher levels of synthesis and evaluation (levels 5 and 6).4

Multiple-choice tests also rarely provide information about achievement of skills-based goals. Similarly, traditional course

evaluations, a technique commonly used for affective assessment, do not generally provide useful information about

changes in student values, attitudes, and interests.

Thus, commonly used assessment techniques, while perhaps providing a means for assigning grades, often do not provide

us (or our students) with useful feedback for determining whether students are attaining our course goals. Usually, this is

due to a combination of not having formalized goals to begin with, not having translated those goals into outcomes that are

measurable, and not using assessment techniques capable of measuring expected student outcomes given the levels of

expertise required to achieve them. Using the CIA model of course development, we can ensure that our curriculum,

instructional methods, and classroom assessment techniques are properly aligned with course goals.

Note that Bloom's Taxonomy need not be applied exclusively after course goals have been defined. Indeed, Bloom's

Taxonomy and the words associated with its different categories can help in the goals-defining process itself. Thus, Bloom's

Taxonomy can be used in an iterative fashion to first state and then refine course goals. Bloom's Taxonomy can finally be

used to identify which classroom assessment techniques are most appropriate for measuring these goals.

Attachment: Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives [PDF, 67 KB]

(/sites/teaching.uncc.edu/files/media/files/file/GoalsAndObjectives/Bloom.pdf)

Website: Field-tested Learning Assessment Guide (FLAG): Assessment Primer (http://www.flaguide.org/start/primerfull.php).

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